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This page tracks the Stranger Things series finale "The Rightside Up" — the final episode of the Duffer Brothers' Hawkins saga — which launched globally on Netflix on December 31, 2025 (PT) / January 1, 2026 (UTC). The finale capped a five-season run that began in 2016.
Stranger Things ran for five seasons across nine years, growing from a sleeper-hit nostalgia thriller into one of Netflix's flagship global properties. The fifth and final season released in three volumes through late 2025, with the series finale "The Rightside Up" closing the Hawkins, Indiana storyline that opened with Will Byers' disappearance in November 1983.
The Duffer Brothers wrote and directed the finale episode, with the cast — Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, Maya Hawke, and Winona Ryder — returning for the closer. Composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein delivered the final synth-driven score.
The finale streams on Netflix in 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos worldwide, with the global release at 12:00 AM PT on December 31, 2025 (8:00 AM UTC). Subtitles ship in 30+ languages at launch. A behind-the-scenes documentary "Hawkins Forever" is included on the Stranger Things hub on Netflix.
For more Netflix finale moments, see the Squid Game finale countdown and other 2026 prestige TV countdowns. For genre adjacents, see the Wednesday Season 2 countdown.
When did the Stranger Things finale release? December 31, 2025 (PT) / January 1, 2026 (UTC) on Netflix worldwide. What is the finale called? "The Rightside Up" — written and directed by Matt and Ross Duffer. Is the entire final season available? Yes — Netflix released Season 5 in volumes through late 2025, with the finale capping Volume 3. Where can I watch? Netflix only — included with all subscription tiers.
